The pirate ship Azalea drifted steadily under an already burning sun towards the Azores. On board it was quiet. The deck was almost completely void of personnel, a common occurrence on this ship. The rules stated that the crew had to take a nap between 10 and 11 in the morning if heavy drinking had gone on the night before.

Rum intake was also regulated, in that it was obligatory on occasion. Just the five cabin boys, no more than teenagers, were exempt. From them the helmsmen for the night and the following morning were chosen.

Gerrit Meys was happy with his watch. It was the time of the day that you had a few moments for yourself. The young helmsman had little else to do than to keep East, so he used his time thinking up rap lyrics. Oh yeah, our Gerrit thought himself a real ‘gangsta.’ To be fair, there was something to that.